Bleach Day first appeared here just over a week ago with 'bbs in the grass' and they make a rapid return with another track entitled 'In Limbo' just ahead of this Fridays album release. The psychedelic vibes are laid back and gorgeous. === Sour Widows self titled E.P. is streaming in full below, it's a collection of six songs, where alt rock, slacker pop and lo-fi moments all come together and combine wonderfully. === David Clayton-Thomas has shared 'The Circus' and although he might be an award winning artist with decades of musical success, I just love the circus swirling song with all the sounds of the big top.
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Bleach Day - In Limbo.
Bleach Day—the Burlington, Vermont-based psychedelic lo-fi pop project led by Louie Kiley and Vinny Marksohn new album, is officially out worldwide this Friday March 6th on Birdwatcher Records, "it's meant to mirror a full life cycle from birth to death, fears to self-discovery".
Originally spurred from the home tape recordings of Louie Kiley and Vinny Marksohn, Bleach Day released their full-length debut, Where to Dream, in 2016. Its release was met with praise from blogs such as Earmilk and Buried Muse (now Idle House). Seven Days called the album "...an eight-song sonic tapestry of analog whirrs, screwy samples and, at its core, beautiful, sun-bleached lo-fi pop."
Since the release of Where to Dream, Bleach Day has appeared as a five-piece band for live performances—expanding to include Jon Kraus and Mitch Manacek (both of garage-punk band The Bubs) and electronic artist Amelia Devoid—at festivals such as POP Montreal and Waking Windows, and has supported artists like Phantogram, Homeshake, Crumb, and Palm. The band will play their record release show on March 6th at Burlington City Arts and will be touring North America this spring, with club and festival dates soon to be announced.
Behind the scenes, the duo has been perpetually occupied in their newly fortified analog home studio earning production, engineering, and performance credits on Wished Bone’s critically acclaimed breakout LP Cellar Belly, engineering Sparklesaurus’ self-titled LP, and tracking or performing on numerous local Vermont artists’ tracks.
Bleach Day’s sophomore LP as if always is the product of a two year studio binge, occurring in between all of these other projects. Mixing classic golden age pop sounds, cinematic progressions, and oddball tones, as if always composes a sonic language that takes the listener through a story of growth and self discovery in its most primeval form, which mirrors a full life cycle from birth to death. Through struggle you learn to confront your fears, your shadows, and your limitations to become the person you are meant to be. It’s a journey to a place that feels far away – until you realize it’s actually within yourself, and always has been.
Sour Widows are a bedroom rock group from the Bay Area, formed in 2018 by longtime friends Maia Sinaiko, Susanna Thomson and Max Edelman, and recently joined by Sam Edelman on bass.
Songs marked by driving harmonies address themes of relationship and reflection; layers of warmth, grit, and depth surface and fade in their two guitar dynamic.
Carried by Edelman’s inimitable drumming, the four draw from influences including Big Thief, Duster, Pile and Forth Wanderers to create heavy harmonic alternative rock.
The term ‘bedroom rock’ is a nod to this intimacy - it could mean sleepy, dreamy, or weepy - as it captures the emotion behind the music. Post-Trash calls their debut single ‘Tommy’ “a perfect synthesis of slacker pop and punk’s tamer edges,” and asserts the band “is slated to blow up the indie scene.” Through progressions that shift from subtle to biting, Sour Widows expose tender moments with an edge.
David Clayton-Thomas began his amazing journey with his 1968 debut album with Blood Sweat & Tears that sold 10 million copies worldwide.
The self-titled record topped the Billboard album chart for seven weeks, and charted for a staggering 109 weeks. It won an unprecedented five Grammy awards, including Album of The Year.
He hasn’t slowed down since then and developed into one of the most recognizable voices in music, to date selling over 40 million records. In 1996 he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and in 2007 his jazz/rock composition “Spinning Wheel” was enshrined in the Songwriter’s Hall Of Fame. In 2010 David received his star on Canada’s Walk Of Fame.
Stars and Rabbit have just released their new album 'Rainbow Isle' which is available in full below. My personal favorite is 'Naked King' however there are plenty of other impressive songs from this duo who switch genres and moods with apparent ease. === We featured 'Stars' back in January and now Glass Heart String Choir have released companion single 'It's Never Enough' which is another sumptuous and beautiful song from this creative pair. === From Sydney, Australia we have Magnus and the powerful rocker 'Forever and Never' that overwhelms and pleases with potent musical hooks. === Formed in the mid 1980's Close Lobsters are still creating exceptional new songs as the moody and dramatic rocker 'Godless' clearly demonstrates.
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Stars and Rabbit - Rainbow Isle (Album).
Hailing from the Indonesian island of Java, Stars and Rabbit deliver fun and unpredictable, mixing the classic quirkiness of Carole King and The Carpenters with the modern creative vibes of Sia and Little Dragon.
Spearheaded by female singer-songwriter Elda and musical director Didit, the band has quickly established themselves as a gem of the Indonesian music scene with the kind of broad appeal that smacks of crossover success. Elda founded Stars and Rabbit in 2011 as an outlet for her love of music. Didit, a veteran of the island’s rock scene, saw a spark in Elda’s innocent passion for music, and the two joined forces, releasing a debut album, a collaboration LP and 2 live albums, in quick succession. Their small and intimate gigs have already achieved a cult status in their native city of Jogja.
Their new LP, Rainbow Aisle, a full spectrum of colors, showcasing their knack for groovy electro rock as well as intimate acoustic confessions. “We usually write about meaningful relationships with life and other beings. We’re admittedly a bit obsessed with a utopian type of existence,” Elda asserts. “I guess that’s why I love music...it makes me feel like anything is possible.”
"It's Never Enough" comes as a companion single to "Stars", which we released last month with the help of BTR Today and For Folks Sake. The band are currently wrapping up a tour of New Zealand before bringing their brand of widescreen folk to the West Coast for a performance at McMenamins White Eagle Saloon in Portland, Oregon on March 24th.
At first listen, one might assume that the intricate interplay between honeyed vocals and any variety of violin, cello, or harp of a Glass Heart String Choir song would require careful discussion between musical partners, but songs are the one thing Ian Williams and Katie Mosehauer never talk about.
Verbose when discussing the nuances of nature (especially birds) or poetry (especially Russian), Ian is a person prone to long pauses while searching for the perfect word or metaphor to describe his own inner mechanics—a listener may wait indefinitely for sentences that never finish or metaphors that remain unfound. It is songwriting that allows him ample time to plumb the more faceless emotions of life and dredge for exactly the right words to capture them. Recipient of the prestigious Richard Rodgers Award in musical theater, Williams is adept at telling others’ stories, as well as his own through song.
For Katie, music presents a wondrous, wordless reprieve. Spending much of her time crafting public policy, words are a high-stakes game with far reaching implications. “I spend a lot of time in other arenas parsing the meaning of individual words and their intention. When it come to our songs, we seem to have found our own language—Ian never needs to tell me what they mean, and I never need to ask.” Composing allows her to think only in sound and shape and color, to fill in spaces not with what must be said to make the world more just but with what could be heard to make it more beautiful.
In their first release since their project’s debut EP in late 2018, the release of singles "Stars" and "It’s Never Enough" scheduled for early 2020 move on from Light’s themes of leveling doubt to trade in absolutes. Both songs apply surging vocals over baroque musical sheets, weaving together intricate stories with cinematic soundscapes, but to different effect—"Stars" bursts toward the future with a knowing, formative, certainty while "It’s Never Enough" looks back with an equally certain sense of devastation. This paired couplet of songs is day to each other’s night, full of contrast and compliment.
Sydney group Magnus launch their brand new single "Forever & Never" a taste of what's to come for their upcoming LP Detachment, due out in April 2020.
Sydney band Magnus formed in 2012 to bring their urgency, fearlessness in experimentation, and healthy disregard for genres to Australian music. Their name, derived from "Magn-hus" and translating as "powerhouse" in Old Norse, is a testament to their live performances. A casual open mic at Melbourne’s world-famous Cherry Bar landed them a residency there and eventually nomination for Best live band of the year award by invite of owner James Young Himself.
Their debut album, “I”, received critical acclaim by both online and print media with The Sydney Morning Herald Stating: “The band clearly likes to tease and with terrific self-confidence, in their undoubted abilities the approach does create a lively anxiousness within their music.". In 2017 work on Detachment started with a DIY approach which resulted in recorded demos in their rehearsal space mixed at their home studio. Convinced this album needed to have an “all-or-nothing” approach, these demos were sent out around the world and sparked interest from big names such as Steve Albini, Alan Moulder & Bob Clearmountain.
In 2018 recording of the album took place under the supervision of five-time Aria award-winning producers Paul McKercher. With COG’s Lucius Borichon drums it promises an even more raw and visceral approach, yet maintaining the unexpected twists and turns Magnus has become known for. Both Paul and the legendary Bob Clearmountain (multi-Grammy winner & nominee, USA - Rolling Stones, Springsteen, The Preatures) are credited in mixing and Big Bass Brian Gardner (multi-Grammy winner & nominee known for QOTSA Songs for the Deaf and his work with Dr. Dré), for mastering the album. Detachment is set for release in April 2020.
Recorded between 2014 and 2019 and produced by John Rivers (producer of their 1986 debut album “Foxheads Stalk This Land.”) Post Neo Anti … finds the band in shimmering, gallus form. The cover features an original photograph from legendary photographer Brian Sweeney, inspired by the Arditi Del Popolo, a militant anti fascist group from the 1920’s. Andrew Burnett, Bob Burnett, Tom Donnelly, and Stewart McFayden formed Close Lobsters in the mid 80’s in Paisley, Scotland.
Close Lobsters first came to wider prominence with the track ‘Firestation Towers’ on the NME’s C86 compilation. They signed to Fire Records and released their debut single ‘Going To Heaven To See If It Rains’ in October 1986. They released a second single ‘Never Seen Before’ in April 1987, which strengthened their reputation as one of the leading emerging indie bands. They went on to release two albums: ‘Foxheads Stalk This Land’ was released in 1987 and ‘Headache Rhetoric’ in 1989. Rolling Stone’s review of ‘Foxheads Stalk This Land’ called it “first-rate guitar pop from a top-shelf band. Close Lobsters could have been just another jangle group, but they have a lot more going for them than just chiming Rickenbackers.”
Their popularity on United States college radio stations led to an invitation to the New York Music Seminar in 1989, which in turn led to an extensive American tour. They toured extensively in the UK, Germany and the United States of America and Canada. The band eventually took an extended break. Their singles retrospective, ‘Forever, Until Victory!’ was released on 5 October 2009 on Fire Records. The title taken from the reputed last sign-off in a letter from Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara to Fidel Castro “¡Hasta la victoria siempre!”. In March 2012, Close Lobsters reformed to play the second Madrid Popfest, Glasgow, third Popfest Berlin and the 2013 NYC Popfest.
In May 2014, Close Lobsters played the Copenhagen Popfest and released new EP, ‘Kunstwerk in Spacetime’. Lead single ‘Now Time’ received significant attention, a further single followed in 2015, before a further hiatus. The band are now back again with a new album – ‘Post Neo Anti‘ – being released by Last Night From Glasgow on February 28th 2020 along with Shelflife Records in the United States.
Grizzly Coast shares 'Forever' a slower paced and melodic indie rocker where both guitar and vocals vie for attention. === Scottish pop-rock band Dancing On Tables just released 'Not To Need You' a song that's packed with musical hooks from start to finish. === There is no shortage of passion on the new song from The Reverse entitled 'Crush My Chest With Your Hate' it's a powerful indie rocker. === We Three Kings cut to the chase with 'S’alright (G.O.T.I.T)' a full on and wonderful rock & roll explosion from the opening riffs. === Sea Offs latest single is 'For Familiarity's Sake' and it's a beautiful modern folk piece from songwriters Olivia Price and Rashmit Arora. === Ethel & The Chordtones have released 'Make You Mine' a timeless and gorgeous song with retro vibes and plenty of energy.
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Grizzly Coast - Forever.
From the imaginative, yet highly-analytical mind of Alannah Kavanagh comes Grizzly Coast, the Toronto-based indie rock project with heavy-hitting instrumentation that tears up the stage and heavy-lifting lyrical narratives that compel you to think deeper.
Formerly performing as an acoustic singer-songwriter, Grizzly Coast wears her expansion into full-band territory well, having toured her powerful and effervescent live show throughout Ontario and Alberta, including opening slots for Fast Romantics, Begonia, and Exclaim! magazine’s Class of 2020.
Grizzly Coast blends her trademark thoughtful lyricism with dreamy guitar rock sensibilities on her singles Forever, Half-Light Boy and High-Functioning, and is releasing her debut EP this spring.
Dancing On Tables are a five-piece pop-rock band from Dunfermline, Scotland, who formed as bored school friends that happened to play the right instruments. It has been a whirlwind journey for Robbie, Callum, Gregor, Hamish and Reece, which has seen them grow from playing friend’s parties and school halls, to supporting Catfish and the Bottlemen as part of their UK arena tour.
Recent releases saw the band perform at the likes of Latitude, The Great Escape and Dot to Dot festivals; bag spots on New Music Friday, The Pop List and other Spotify and Apple Music editorial playlists; become the sound of Schuh x Adidas and multi-year Scottish Water advertising campaigns; perform sessions for Shazam and STV; soundtrack opening credits of hit TV show Made in Chelsea; and be named one of Variety Magazine’s “10 Brits to Watch.”
As well as a 14 date UK tour, Spring 2020 will see the band release their highly anticipated next EP; where they can count American chart-topping writers Liz Rose (Taylor Swift, Little Big Town, Carrie Underwood) and Seth Ennis (The Band CAMINO), cult indie-star Only Real and Grammy winner Femke Weidema amongst the people involved with highly anticipated new material. The first single is the emotive, indie-pop banger ‘Not To Need You’ - Exploring the bands melancholic side, it’s a track that was written in Nashville alongside legendary songwriter Liz Rose. On writing the track, the band state
“Writing the track felt more like therapy than a songwriting session. We talked about all the difficulties we faced in life as we told stories of failed friendships and heartaches, before agreeing that we wanted a song that would encapsulate the pain and hurt that people go through in life, but ultimately show that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. The track focuses on someone ending a reliance on someone else, but we wanted the track to apply to all uphill battles, and for “the best part of starting over, is not to need you anymore” to give people hope that things will always get better.”
North London guitar band The Reverse announce the release of their new album Which Way Out on 24 April via Blang Records, and share the album opening track ‘Crush My Chest With Your Hate’, a furious reverb drenched and darkly caustic song lamenting a culture of hate and envy that has led to the dehumanisation of refugees, and the disturbing rise of the far-right.
‘Crush My Chest With Your Hate’ is a befitting taster for Which Way Out, which the band describe as an album influenced “by the personal and the political with more than a little darkness but also plenty of humour.” The Reverse’s sound is a an urgent and literate style of indie-rock that’s been likened to “Belle and Sebastian meets Pulp meets Lloyd Cole,” with a dark and twisted nod to Britpop’s more irreverently humoured acts such as David Devant & His Spirit Wife and The Auteurs; a hint of post-punk in the Wire-esque chugging guitar riffs; and touches of both the gothic and alt-folk.
Which Way Out was recorded whilst the band performed together in order to capture the essence of their live sets, with the album moving through energetic rock songs to more delicate acoustic laments, offering nuanced tone shifts through emotional and stylistic ranges. Frontman and lyricist Nathan Loughran’s delivery veers from anger and sarcasm to vulnerability and compassion, unsurprising with influences including iconic purveyors of the raw and laid bare truth, such as Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan.
The sardonic album track ‘Nobody Likes You, Everybody Hates You’ explores all that divides us in increasingly binary terms, with a deliciously darkly humoured swipe at everyone from The Sun newspaper through to Jeremy Kyle. Whilst ‘Abstract Heart’- one of DJ Gary Crowley’s top songs of the year on BBBC Radio London – is another heavier rock-edged track, an anti-love song narrating the broken people destroyed by the less-than-perfect reality of the romantic dream, played out to a backdrop of chugging Wire-esque riffs.
Then there’s the classic British observational song-writing on songs such as ‘Nothing on Telly’ which offers a kind of kitchen-sink storytelling realism worthy of Pulp. Whilst tracks like ‘Kill Us All’ recall the aforementioned 90’s band The Auteurs with its tongue in cheek misanthropy (“You seem nice, you talk a lot but I don’t need new friends when I hate the ones I’ve got” – ‘Kill Us All’).
Then there are the album’s more fragile and naked moments with ‘A Vague Arrangement’ and ‘Skimming Stones’, offering Nathan Loughran’s standard laid bare honesty but laced with a gentler, more compassionate touch - and the appearance of Teresa Kelly’s delicate vocal. The songs explore the vulnerability of falling in love and the fragility of the human existence, offering up a softer side to The Reverse and another shade in Which Way Out’s many nuances.
Which Way Out is probably best described as an album realistically reflecting human existence in today’s troublesome times, with an unafraid exploration of dark subject matter, but also of life’s flickering and hopeful warm light.
We Three Kings are a no-nonsense three piece rock ’n’ roll band from Manchester, UK with a balls-out sound that blends fuzzed up blues-rock into three minute mini miracles of pure joy.
With Rich on vocals and guitar, Ben on bass and Pete on drums, their riff-driven guitar-heavy sound is perfect for a playlist alongside Rival Sons, Royal Blood, The Black Keys, Queens of the Stone Age, Wolfmother and The White Stripes. S’alright (G.O.T.I.T) is a razor sharp reminder of the power of monstrous riffs turned up to 11.
An unpretentious live act with a massive, balls-out sound, 2019 singles ‘Give It To Me, GO!’, ‘Do It’ & ‘Gasoline’ achieved widespread critical acclaim, including radio airplay on BBC Introducing, Planet Rock Radio & Amazing Radio, with ‘Give It To Me, GO!’ also featuring on Classic Rock Magazine’s cover- mounted CD, July 2019. The band’s back catalogue includes a further two five-track EPs: 'EMBERS' (2016) and ‘FIRE’ (2018), and is available to stream across all digital platforms.
Indie-folk duo Sea Offs share their latest single release "For Familiarity's Sake" from the forthcoming EP 'En Root' out March 27th, 2020 via Independent Release. The two have quite an unlikely connection. Rashmit comes from Mumbai and Olivia from Pittsburgh. The two met in college over a love of atmospheric folk and a shared socio-political belief system. Since joining forces, they've opened for acts like Girlpool, The Shacks, and Pinegrove.
Sea Offs is the meeting ground for songwriters Olivia Price and Rashmit Arora. Rashmit hails from Mumbai, India; Olivia from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The two met and started writing together in college, bonding over a love of atmospheric folk music and a shared socio-political belief system. Currently, they split time between Philadelphia and Brooklyn.
Together, their tender blend of brooding folk music and ethereal instrumentation that takes cues from classics like Joni Mitchell and Neil Young with a more expansive and progressive ethos adjacent to Wye Oak or Hayley Henderickx. Following the band’s 2016 debut EP Sea the Blind Sea Offs toured the northeast most notably supporting Girlpool, The Shacks, and Hodera, and has shared festival stages with Pinegrove, Hop Along, and Frankie Cosmos.
Their forthcoming EP En Root sees the band tackling themes of love in its many different forms. Olivia writes, “The first single (“Will (you)”) discusses body ownership in a relationship – the detachment one can feel sexually when there is no emotional connection to serve as a basis. Ultimately, it’s about an undefined relationship I was in where I tried to force meaning into what was actually just a physical outlet. In the years following my college graduation, I repeatedly found myself in “flings” with people who, I felt, viewed me as nothing more than a sexual object. It’s an identity I felt forced into and extremely uncomfortable assuming.”
Hailing from Brooklyn, NY, Ethel & the Chordtones consists of vocalist Julie Hardy and guitarist/producer Mike MacAllister. Ethel’s bluesy swagger marks a return to Hardy’s roots as a jazz and blues songstress.
MacAllister, who has gained a reputation as an electronic music producer, revisits the songs of his early days of playing in garage rock bands.
Their single “Trouble (ft. Ryan Levine of Wildling) (2015) was featured in the Entourage The Movie film trailer. “Serious Craving” the second single off their EP “Trouble” can be heard on advertisements for Diet Coke, Lexus, and Haagen Daz.
me&you have released 'S.O.L' today and its a natural Americana song where folk and country come together beautifully, the dual vocals enriching the track even further. === Singer songwriter Arielle Silver shares her brand new song 'What Really Matters' where the poignant lyrics are passionately delivered on this powerful Indie folk piece. === Today Carroll release their third album 'Leap and the Net Appears' which is streaming in full below, we have already shared the song 'Fern' from the collection, and I have to say the album has lived up to the promise that track hinted at. === From Sydney, Australia we haveCasual Fan and their latest song entitled 'Flight', it's a gently paced alt rocker with gorgeous vocals and background harmonies and some refined musicianship. === Reckless Kelly share 'North American Jackpot' which is a timeless country rocker with just a hint or two of Southern rock vibes. === From London we have Lial and the song 'Embers' which is released today, it's an electro pop song with plenty of feeling and emotion. === Rue Snider makes his seventh appearance on Beehive Candy with today's release 'Oklahoma' a gentler ballad that is both melodic and quite personal sounding.
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me&you - S.O.L.
me&you, formed of siblings Karlee and Connor Hormell, are an Americana duo from Sacramento, CA. Their new single, "S.O.L." is a country-folk slow burner about bad timing in a relationship. The single will be released Friday, February 28, ahead of their debut as official showcasing artists at SXSW 2020.
About me&you: "My brother and I always tell each other: all we have is me and you," explains Karlee with regards to their band name. The siblings have been playing music together since they were kids, but the band really came to fruition when they went on a month-long campervan trip in the backcountry of New Zealand and ultimately wrote their debut EP, Chasing Trails.
Since then, the duo has shared the stage with Dwight Yoakam, Barns Courtney, John Paul White (Civil Wars), Bastille, and others and has been sponsored by Patagonia, REI, SC Vans, and Visit Sacramento.
In November 2018, there was a shooting at the Borderline Bar in Thousand Oaks, CA. The next day, the Woolsey and Hill fires broke out, burning over 96K acres of Southern California. People who were still wrapping their heads around losing 13 of their neighbors in the shooting were now having to pack up whatever they could to evacuate the fires that were rapidly heading their way. One of these nearby residents was Americana singer, Arielle Silver.
After these tragic events, Silver began to think about what really matters most when you are facing a tragedy and from that, her latest single was born. "What Really Matters" is released today Friday, February 28.
Arielle Silver crafts songs that are luminous, literate, and alive. A Thousand Tiny Torches, the singer-songwriter’s new Indie Folk Americana collection, is a testament to her renewal of inspiration, the rekindling of dreams, and the redemptive power and connective compassion that defines her artistry.
Her rich, expressive alto voice frames expansive melodies that echo the American heartland. Now based in Los Angeles, Arielle knows this geography well. A performing itinerary transported her from Club Passim in her adopted hometown of Boston to venues including Eddie’s Attic in Atlanta and Nashville’s 12th & Porter, plus stops to the Southwest, as she steered a vegetable oil-fueled vehicle across Texas to Abilene, Odessa and Austin.
Leap and the Net Appears (out February 28th 2020 on Shattered Orb Records) is the third album by the Philadelphia band Carroll. The album takes the band’s outrospective sonic palate to glistening new heights and some of the murkiest depths of their career. Recorded in the band’s subterranean bunker in Philadelphia and at Berlin Studios in New Jersey, the record captures the first moments of a hibernating bear blinking into the sunshine after months in its den. On songs like first single “Fern” and album opener “2 Have U,” we see a band with one foot firmly planted in the void while cautiously approaching the light.
After years on the road and stints opening for the likes of Dr. Dog, Whitney, and Jessica Pratt, the four members of Carroll are learning to stay in place. “I tried fixing the holes inside / then I covered the door in your color,” sings frontman Brian Hurlow on “Nona.” Home improvement and domesticity butt up against inner turmoil in songs about unsettled settling. “This one has been a crazy year of tearing the yard apart,” Hurlow reflects on the sublime album closer "Bemy."
Underneath Hurlow’s plaintive delivery swirl the dense psychedelic landscapes the band is known for. The propulsive, liquid bass lines of Charles McClung are a second narrator throughout the course of the album and Max Kulicke continues to create microclimates and sonic storms with his atmospheric guitar. The record’s tasteful and varied synthesizers seem to bubble up from beneath the understated beats of drummer Charlie Rudoy, while the tender saxophone work by free jazz explorer Gabriel Garcia polishes off what are the most enveloping grooves of the band’s career.
The first lines of "Fern" are an apt metaphor for Carroll's newest record: "I'm a fern with the leaves curled up / in the light I extend and unravel." As you spend time with Leap and the Net Appears, the album unfurls, blooms, and blossoms around you
Casual Fan is a musical collective from Sydney, started when songwriter Nathan moved from his home town of Newcastle to Sydney’s Inner West and pulled together some new friends to take his folk songs in a different direction. The result is a dynamic mix of subdued interludes and frenzied refrains, with Nathan’s resonant vocals and intricate guitar work providing a unique through line for the listener.
“Flight” is the first single from Casual Fan’s forthcoming debut album “I’ve Dreamt About These Days”. Recorded with Mark Myers (The Middle East, The Starry Field), it’s a song about being stuck between where you are and where you think you should be.
Listen as rich guitar tones and yearning vocals soar over unique rhythms to create a song that’s nostalgic like the Australian summer — like it’s 38 degrees and you’re packed into your friend’s ’97 Nissan Pulsar on your way to the beach in late February.
The Austin, TX-based country rock band Reckless Kelly released “North American Jackpot,” the first single and title track from their upcoming album American Jackpot (out May 22 alongside their album American Girls). The song will be available everywhere tomorrow but you can hear it now on Taste of Country.
“Writing ‘North American Jackpot’ I kept hitting a wall with the verses and the theme,” says Willy Braun, who co-founded Reckless Kelly with his older brother Cody Braun and drummer Jay Nazz in 1996. “Trouble was, I kept going back to my first idea, a story about my grandparents, which wasn’t really going anywhere, but I couldn’t get away from it. I thought, I’d have to scrap this one till it made sense… the problem was, I’d already started writing the rest of the album and was close to being finished, but the title track, 'North American Jackpot’ wasn’t close to being completed, and far from the cornerstone it needed to be. I called Jeff Crosby, songwriter extraordinaire from the Gem State asking for help. The next day he sent a nearly perfect first verse that got me out of the rut and on the right track. I wrote a second verse almost immediately and we polished it up in Boise a couple weeks later. I had my cornerstone.”
For nearly 25 years, Reckless Kelly has graced the musical landscape with a high-powered form of Americana, equally rooted in raw passion, refined musicianship, and gritty authenticity. With the dual release of two new albums—American Jackpot and American Girls—the Idaho-bred band presents a beautifully detailed portrait of their beloved country, turning their nuanced songwriting to its many glories and tragedies. “North American Jackpot” appears on American Jackpot, throughout which Reckless Kelly joyously examines what they most cherish about their homeland, exalting everything from the thrill of mule-riding through the Grand Canyon to the country’s singular potential as a cultural melting pot. At the same time, the band never shies away from calling out forces that threaten America’s character. To that end, the album is bookended by two piano-driven tracks with lyrics lifted from the Emma Lazarus poem inscribed at the Statue of Liberty: the full-hearted and hopeful “North American Jackpot,” and “Goodbye Colorado #3” (a quietly impassioned response to anti-immigrant rhetoric).
For American Jackpot and American Girls, the band called upon friends and fellow musicians Bukka Allen, Jeff Crosby, Charlie Sexton, Gary Clark Jr., Rosie Flores, Shawn Sahm, Muzzie Braun, Suzy Bogguss, Wade Bowen and many more to join their recording sessions. Although Reckless Kelly initially intended to make just one album, the project took on a life of its own once they headed into the studio. “I wanted to produce this one by myself, just to try that out, and I made sure to book plenty of studio time to get it done right,” says Willy. “We ended up moving along really fast, so I pulled out a few more songs and figured we’d end up using them down the road. Before we knew it, we had enough material for two really good records.”
Lial is a London artist making a haunting and melancholy strand of electronic-pop, laced with a hypnotic and sensual vocal which has been likened to a mix of Kylie and Billie Ray Martin. On 28th February, she releases brand new single Embers ahead of the release of her second EP, Made To Break, which follows in Summer 2020.
Lial sites artists such as Låpsley, Sia, and Lana Del Rey as influences, with her sound encompassing echoes of each. Lial’s enveloping minimal arrangements recall Låpsley’s dark, brooding alt-pop but coupled with Sia’s glistening pop-sensibility. There’s also a touch of Del Rey’s sultry heartsick delivery, weighted by the subject matter of Lial’s songs. New single Embers is about the struggle of removing oneself from a destructive situation which is simultaneously addictive. The song’s darker undertones are laced with a wistful edge which Lial describes as “the recognition there is something good that could have been, even as you try to draw a line under it all.”
After performing live as a professional singer at big sports events including England Rugby matches, Lial began working on her own music. In 2019 she shared her debut Heart Scars EP, self-released and unpromoted, it organically accumulated over 68k Spotify plays, UK and international blog posts for its lead title-track, and fans in a wide range of places. Lial found music from the EP shared and championed on social media by fellow songstress Pixie Lott and actresses Lily James, Michelle Dockery and Jo Froggatt (among many others).
Embers is released as a digital single on 28 February. It is written by Lial alongside co-writer and producer Gregor McWilliam and mastered by John Davies. Lial’s Made to Break EP follows in Summer 2020.
Brooklyn based Rue Snider today releases his new song Oklahoma. Rue tells us "It's a ballad about a sex worker. It's quieter than the stuff I've been putting out lately".
Singer songwriter Rue Snider combines 80s alt sonics with a lyrical style reminiscent of 60s rock revolutionaries. His sound and ideals are both a reflection of and a reaction to growing up during the 1980s in a small town.
The tone of his hometown and it’s conservative foundation spawned Rue’s progressive values and belief in social justice. His home filled with records by Neil Diamond, Elvis Presley, and Air Supply, and his elementary school music teacher father propelled his love for music and interest in performance. Investments were made in lessons on piano, cello, trumpet, and eventually voice, which were met with the same embrace any free spirited young person attaches to something they are forced to do.
